Climate Mitigation Specialist

In Latin America and the Caribbean, UNOPS operates across 23 countries, delivering high-impact solutions that drive sustainable development. UNOPS focuses on building and improving resilient infrastructure—including roads, bridges, public facilities, sanitation systems, and housing—to enhance quality of life and foster inclusive growth. UNOPS also supports public health by procuring essential medicines and medical equipment, ensuring broader access to healthcare services. By strengthening institutional capacities, UNOPS promotes transparent, efficient, and equitable public management. As a trusted partner to governments and development stakeholders, UNOPS aligns its interventions with national priorities, helping countries advance the Sustainable Development Goals through practical, results-driven support.

The Barbados Country Office (CO) functions as a strategic hub to support Caribbean nations in implementing the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), helping regional leaders advance a global agenda on climate justice and financing.  The primary mandate of the Barbados Country Office is to Speed Up and Scale Up engagements across 17 Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), ensuring that partner expectations are met with agility and precision. Through dedicated operational presence, UNOPS Barbados Country Office streamlines complex regional logistics and fosters stronger collaboration with sovereign governments and financial institutions in the Caribbean. The office focuses on delivering high-value solutions aligned with the region’s priorities, including the economy, nature and climate, human capital, infrastructure and capacity development.

The Caribbean Resilient Infrastructure Implementation and Skills Exchange (RIISE) Facility is established as a regional mechanism designed to support governments in implementing climate-resilient infrastructure. The Facility provides demand-driven technical assistance, strengthens institutional capacity, and facilitates knowledge and skills exchange across countries in the region. 

The Facility is envisioned as a five-year initiative, initially serving countries in the Eastern Caribbean eligible for Official Development Assistance, namely Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Through a growing number of short‑ and medium‑term technical assistance assignments and surge deployments, the Facility is expected to strengthen the capacity of ministries, project implementation units, and utilities responsible for delivering climate‑resilient infrastructure in these countries. 

The Facility will be implemented through a United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Hosted Entity Partnership, which will provide the institutional platform required for the Facility’s establishment and early operations.

The functions/responsibilities/key results of this job description are generic and may not always be applicable, nor be comprehensive, for all assignments and/or missions under this job title. The specific tasks and deliverables for each retainer assignment may vary and will be detailed in the terms of reference developed for each assignment by the RIISE Secretariat.

The RIISE Facility delivers demand-driven technical assistance primarily through two service modalities: the Rapid Helpdesk, which provides short-term remote advisory support for urgent queries, and Surge Deployments, which involve medium-term engagements designed to support the effective resolution of complex project implementation needs. While RIISE operates on a "remote-first" delivery approach—utilizing digital collaboration tools by default to optimize responsiveness and cost-efficiency—the Consultant must possess the availability and willingness to travel for on-site deployments across participating Caribbean countries. In-country field presence remains a fundamental requirement for complex assignments where direct hands-on engagement, collaborative work with government counterparts, and on-site technical assessments are critical for effective delivery.

While the contract modality for this Vacancy Announcement is an ICA retainer contract on a project or assignment basis, UNOPS may offer, on a need basis, full-time employment for a specified consecutive period of time (up to one year maximum, with possible extensions), with the possibility to move between the two contract modalities subject to operational needs and the incumbent’s acceptance of the proposed assignments.

The specific tasks for each assignment may vary from one assignment to another assignment. Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the RIISE Secretariat and designated Supervisor, the Specialist will work on a retainer contract and will be called upon for specific projects to fulfill one or more of the following key tasks:

• Provide climate mitigation technical support in the conceptualization and implementation of infrastructure projects (mainly in the energy, transport and buildings sectors)  in the beneficiary countries.
• Provide technical knowledge and contribute to processes and decisions to facilitate climate-resilient infrastructure development and activities such as data collection and analysis, procurement, design, construction and the provision of all climate mitigation support and services to different RIISE’s partners and client countries. 
• Provide technical guidance on all aspects of climate mitigation to inform effective project programming, management and partnerships. 
• Provide technical expertise in support of ongoing infrastructure projects as may be needed.  
• Provide climate mitigation oversight on program design and management, working closely with stakeholders to mainstream climate mitigation actions in projects. 

RIISE Assignment Deliverables

a. Primary Assignment Reports (Modality-Specific)

• RIISE Helpdesk Report: For short-term Rapid Helpdesk assignments, the incumbent must deliver the response and advisory inputs using the standardized RIISE Helpdesk Report Template.
• Assignment Closure Report / Final Technical Report: For Surge Deployments and other medium-term assignments, a comprehensive report must be submitted by the incumbent within 10 working days of the assignment’s end and must be cleared by the RIISE Technical Adviser before final approval.

b. Components of the Final Technical Report

Regardless of the assignment, final technical outputs must adhere to RIISE’s Deliverable Standards and include, as applicable, the following components:

• Knowledge Transfer Summary: A mandatory section documenting the specific skills, methodologies, tools or capabilities shared with and transferred to government counterpart staff during the assignment.
• GBA+ / GESI Integration Outcomes: A section documenting how Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) considerations were integrated into the expert’s analysis, engagement approach and final recommendations (if applicable).
• Safeguards and Risk Summary: A concise summary of relevant safeguards and risk issues identified, measures recommended or implemented, residual risks and any required follow-up actions.
• Actionable Recommendations & Limitations: Clear recommendations accompanied by prioritized action items, responsible parties where applicable, and an explicit section noting the limitations and assumptions taken into account during the assignment (if applicable).

c. Specialized Safeguard & Compliance Outputs

Depending on the nature and risk profile of the assignment, the Specialist shall determine, support, review and/or quality-assure the following outputs in coordination with the relevant technical or engineering expert, as applicable:

• RIISE CCA (Climate Change Adaptation) Integration Checklist: Required for assignments involving engineering design reviews or the development of technical specifications. The Specialist shall support or quality-assure completion of the checklist to confirm that climate hazards, design life, applicable resilience standards and residual climate risks have been appropriately considered. Technical validation of engineering design parameters remains with the relevant qualified technical expert.
• OHS Assessment and ESMP Review: Required for assignments involving on-site technical or construction supervision where relevant. The Specialist shall review, quality-assure and/or coordinate the required OHS and ESMP assessment, and shall recommend specialist OHS or environmental expertise where the risk profile requires it.

d. Administrative Closure Deliverables

• Intellectual Property (IP) Handover Confirmation: A mandatory administrative document that the expert must secure before the assignment can be financially closed. It must be signed by the government counterpart, confirming that all relevant technical outputs (reports, drawings, specifications, data) have been successfully transferred to the requesting government.

Travel 

• Official travels may be required during the assignment;
• The BSAFE course must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
• The Climate Mitigation Specialist is responsible for ensuring they have all required vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by local authorities. 
• The Climate Mitigation Specialist is required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under: https://dss.un.org/dssweb/

This recruitment aims to fill a retainer position. Depending on actual needs, the hiring unit may decide to recruit endorsed qualified professionals for contracts with different working conditions (short/long term, part/full-time, retainer, regular or ongoing positions).

Required

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in energy planning/economics, engineering, climate change, sustainable development, international development, or related fields in combination with 5 years of relevant experience is required  OR 
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above related fields in combination with 7 years of relevant experience.

Required

• Relevant work experience is defined as experience in climate mitigation in the infrastructure sectors preferably in one or more of the following sectors: energy, transport, construction and buildings sectors. 
• Experience with renewable energy projects plus their linkages to national or transnational energy systems and energy efficiency optimization is required.

Desired

• Experience in resource efficient design and delivery of green buildings is desirable
• Experience in mainstreaming climate mitigation actions in transport projects is an asset.
• Experience working with Independent Power Producers (IPP) and leading Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) negotiations would be considered an asset.
• Experience in mainstreaming climate mitigation actions in other sectors of infrastructure e.g Water, Digital development, waste management, etc., is an asset.
• Working experience in the Caribbean countries is highly desirable.
• Previous assignments with the UN system will be an added advantage. 
• Experience working with Multilateral Development Banks and other Donors would be considered an asset.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.